Potato-digger grid



Jan. 27. 1925d 1,524,360

A. LAURITZEN PoTATo DIGGER GRID Filed May 19, 1924 2 SheiS-Sheeb 1 A. LAURlTzEN POTATO DIGGER GRID Filed May 19. 1924 .2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Jan.. 27, 1925.

UNITED STATES ALBERT LAURITZEN, 01T CHARLOTTE, MICHIGAN.

POTATO-DIGGER GRID.

Application led May 19, 1924. Serial No. 714,438.

Zo all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, ALBERT LAURITZEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Charlotte, in the county of Eaton and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and Useful Improvements in Potato-Digger Grids; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in the separators or grids used on potato diggers of the type illustrated in U. S. Patents 1014498, 1239921, 1239922 and 1261139. In these prior patents, the gri-d comprises a pair of parallel side members, a plurality of transverse driven shafts extending between said members, bearings for the shafts adjustable toward and from each other to adjust driving chains used therefor, agitating members on the shafts, spacing collars on said shafts between most of the agitating members, and compression springs between the remainder of said agitating members, exerting pressure to frictionally4 hold the collars and agitators together and cause rotation thereof bodily with the shafts, while per mitting any of the agitators to i-dle, if it should come in contact with a stone or the like, passing over the grid.

lllhile a grid of the type above referred to, is rather eflicient, 'it possesses certain features which are open to improvement. For instance, the endmost agitating members on the shafts are not disposed in substantial contact with the side plates of the grid, at both ends of said shafts, which often permits stones to jam between certain of said agitators and the side plates and also permits the earth moved rearwardly by the grid to frictionally bind against said side plates. It is one object of the invention to equip the shafts with disks at both ends, which disks prevent an appreciable amount of the earth from comingl in Contact with the side plates. Furthermore, these disks are so shaped and related with the side plates as to imn'iediately7 discharge any soil or pieces of stone which may by any possibility enter between them and said side plates.

Another rather objectionable part of the old grid, is that the agitating members contact with the polyside-d shafts which drive them, and when any of said members are held against rotation and the shafts turn within them, the members are prone to cut grooves in the shafts, and these grooves prev vent the springs on the shafts from properly binding the spacing collars and agitating members together, as said members are held to some extent against axial movement, by the grooves. It is therefore another object of the invention to provide the spacing collars and agitating members with co-acting means whereby said members are held centered upon the shafts but cannot come in contact therewith to injure the same.

In the old machines, fine dirt very often finds its way to the insides of the spacing collars and so packs therein as to also be a factor in preventing free movement of the collars and agitating members, under the action of the springs which are intended to hold them in frictional contact. I have found that it is practically impossible to prevent the fine dirt from packing into these collars and hence, another aim of the present invention is to so construct the collars as to permit any dirt which does enter them to immediately leave, so that it cannot cause trouble as heretofore.

When adj usting the shaft bearings of the old machines, to tighten the driving chains for the shafts, the latter are caused to bind to some extent in said bearings. A further object of the present invention however, is to provide a novel association and construction of sleeves rotatable with the shafts ant in turn rotatable within the bearings, said sleeves permitting uninterrupted rotation of the' shafts even though they may be angled to quite an appreciable extent, with respect to thebearing axes.

A still further obpect of the invention is to provide novel thrust collars at the ends of the shafts to limit the movement of the agitating members, spacing collars and disks, under the influence of the springs, said thrust collars being secured upon the shafts'in a novel manner.

With the foregoing in view, the invention resides in the novel subject matter hereinafter described and claimed, the description being supplemented by the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a plan View showing the iniproved grid. v

Figure 2 is a side elevation partly in sec- `tion showingthe grid and yparts of its supporting and drlvingmeans Figure 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view as indicated by line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Figures 4c and 5 are detail vertical sections as indicated by lines lf-al and .5 5 of Fig. 3.

Figure 6 is a detail perspective view of one of the thrust collars employed at the endsof the shafts to limit the movement of the agita-ting members, spacing collars and disks, under the influence ofthe springs.

Figures 7 and 8 are detail sectionalviews as indicated .bylines 7-7' and 84.8 of Fig. 1. In the drawings above lbriefly described, the numerals 1 designate kthe parallel side plates of the grid, atj the rontenls of which is located the p'low l2, koscillatory shakers ai bein'gshown at vthe rear ends of said'plates. Longitudinal ba-rs' r5 have; been shown' eX- tending along the lower edge portions of ythe sideplates 1, at-the outer 'Sides of the latter.l anjdishaft bearings 6 are ajdjustably lsecured to thesebars by bolts 7 andslots 8. 'Rotatable freely with-in the bearings 6, vare sleevesy 9 -havingj polysided interiors 1,0 whicjhfincrease inv diameter roinftheir centers to 'their ends.V Transverse shafts 11 pass through the f sleeves 9 and are polysided t-ofengage ,the latter at their centers, sc that the sleeves'rotate With'tlie shafts and cooperate with tlie'bearings .6 in rotatably supporting the latter.

the potato digger with which the grid is used, and I providesprockets 13 and-chains 14. for driving saidshafts one from another, thechains being located alternately atopposit'e sides of the grid. Loosening of the bolts 7 permits adjustment o lE thc-shafts 11, to take upsla-clcin the 'chains 14' and while such adjustment angles the shafts with re spject lto the axes of'. the bearings 6, and

.f sleevesV 9, the internally Hared ends of said sleevesl permit such angling of the shafts without-causing `the sleeves and bearings to,

frictionally bind against each other.

Agitating members are located on all of thefshafts 11, at'spaced points. Theagitating members for the rear shaft are preferably of the shape shown in Fig. and are indicated at 1 5. 'The others,V however, may

be ofthe shape detailed'in'Fig. 8v and they areldesgnat-ed inthe drawings-by thefcher acterl. Alliot these agitating .members have Shaft-receiving Openings '17 which. are of greater diameter than the diameter of the'esha'fts, and oppositesides of said inembers are formedA with shallow,'concave, countersinls 18.` Spacing collars 19 are interposed between most of' the agitating members and each of these collars preferably comprises two end rings 20 having convex A outer sides snugly engaging the-counterltweenthem and said shafts.

One ofY the shafts 11 driven by gearing 12v from the wheels of sinks 18, and a plurality of spaced posts 21 which extend between and are kintqgifrully joined to said end rings. The openih 1s in theend rings 20 are of a size to snug y lit the shafts 11yet to have any necessary amount of sliding motion thereon, but the posts 21 are spaced radially outward from vthese openings so that space is provided be- Thus, any dirt finding its way into the collars ma immediately leave between the spaces wiioh exist, both between the shafts and the posts 21, and between said posts. Furthermore the convex sides of lthe rings 20, seated within the countersnks 18, :hold the agitatiug members L15 and 16 centered upon the shafts so that they cannot drag upon the latter ,with the injurious results above set forth.

I have stated above that the collars 19 are interposed between most of the agitating members. Between the remaining agitating members, coiled springs22 are located, and these. springs act oppositely against small collars or washers 23 which are to fit the. adjacent countersinks 18. he

springs 22 force the agitating members and collars in a direction to ,cause frietionnl contact between them, so that the collars yact aS drivers for vthe agitating members, aswell as` holding them centered upon the shafts.

lt will 'bev seen from the drawings, that certain of the collars 19 are disposed at the outer sides of the outermost agitating members 16, and that thrust collars 24 are mounted on the shafts at the inner ends of the bearings 6. Furthermore, a pluralitv of concave-convex disks Q5 will be observed, disposed at the inner sides of `the plates 1 and held frictionally between the outermost collars 19 and the collars 24, these collars and the opposed sides of the disks being shaped in the same manner as the corresponding surfaces of the agitating members and the Other col-lars. It will be noted Athat the concave sides orv the disks 25 are disposed toward the plates 1, that the edge portions of said disks are substantially iu Contact with said plates, and that these disks extend below the plates. Thus, any earth and pieces of stone which may possibly enter between the plates and disks, will innuediately dropentirely through to the space beneath ,the machine. Moreover, the nr rangement of disks such that they subYY stantially prevent dragging of the rearf wardly moving earth, against the side plates 1, and hence, ythey avoid a great deal of frictionwhich existed in the old machines` By considering Figs. 3 and 6, the preferred manner of securing the thrust collars 24 on the shafts 11, will be understood. It will be seen' from these views, that' at each end ot each shaft, a pin 26 passes through said shaft. at thel outer` side of the adjacentcollar 24, saidr collar being formed fit lli.)

lli)

l l 'i with recesses 27 to receive the pin ends. '.lhe outer ends of these recesses constitute shoulders which abut the ends of the pins and thus prevent them from moving out of the shaft openings. However, when the disks, collars and agitating members are forced inwardly along the shafts, against the action of the springs 22, it will be seen that the pins 26 may be removed, permitting any or all of the elements on the shafts to be withdrawn. This is of course done only when the machine is being totally or partially disassembled, for instance, when making repairs.

To summarize the improve-ments above described, I may direct attention to the novel form of bearing sleeves 9 for the shafts l1, the provision of the disks 25, the novel mounting of the collars 24;, the unique construction of the spacing collars 19, and the co-acting concave and convex surfaces on the agitating members and collars, and on the disks and collars, these several improvements having the advantages previously pointed out.

i As excellent results are obtainable from the exact details described, they are preferably followed, but within the sco-pe of the invention as claimed, modifications may of course be made.

I claim:

l. In a potato digger grid having a pair of parallel side plates and transverse rotary agitators extending between said plates; disks mounted on both ends of said agitators at the inner sides of the plat-es and extending below said plates, said disks having concave sides whose edge portions are disposed substantially in contact with said plates.

In a potato digger grid having a pair of parallel side plates and transverse rotary agitators extending between said; plaftes; coiicavo-cmivex disks mounted on both ends of said agitators at the inner sides of said plates and extending below the latter, said disks having their concave sides disposed toward the plates and having the peripheral portions of said concave sides substantially in contact with said plates.

23. In a potato digger grid having a pair of side members and transverse driven shafts extending between them, agitating members spaced apart longitudinally of said shafts and having openings receiving the same, said openings being of greater diameter than the shafts, spacing collars contacting with the shafts between most of said agitating members` compression springs between the other agitating members, and means at the ends of the shafts limiting the movement of the collars and agitating members under the influence of the springs; said collars and agitating members having co-acting means retaining the` agitating members in lcentered members and having convex ends engaging Y the countersinks thereof to hold said members in centered position and prevent them from contacting with the shafts, compression springs on the shafts between the other agitating members, washers between the springs and the adjacent agitating members, said washers contacting with the shafts and having convex sides engaging the countersinks of said adjacent agitating members, and means for limiting the movement of the agitating members; and collars under the influence of said springs.

5. In a potato digger grid, a pair of side members, transverse driven shafts extending between said side members, and agitating members spaced apart longitudinally of said shafts and having central countersinks, spacing collars on the shafts between said agitating members, each collar consisting of two end rings having convex outer sides received in said countersinks,iand a plurality of spaced posts whose ends join said rings, said rings having openings to snugly receive the shafts and said posts being spaced radially outward from said openings to space them from the shafts, spring means holding the,- collars and agitating members in frictional contact with each other, and means limiting the movement of said agitating members and collars under the influence of said spring mea-ns.

G. In a potato digger grid having a pair of side members, transverse driven shafts extending between them, agitating members on the shafts, spacing collars between most of said agitating members, compression springs between the remainder of said agitating members frictionally holding said collars and agitating members in engagement with each other and exerting force thereon toward the ends of the shafts, thrust collars on the ends of the shafts, and pins passing through openings in said shafts at the outer sides of said thrust collars to hold the latter against outward movement, said thrust collars having shoulders abutting the ends of the pins to retain them in the shaft openings until said thrust collars are forced inwardly on the shafts to a predetermined extent.

7. In a potato digger grid having a. pair of side plates, transverse driven shafts eX- lUU f Cellars between ,moet .fo Seid ,members and between the endless# j11,1.embers ndr'seddsks.,

'f Collars haring: @Oever ends engaging the fCQenterSinl s-of seid end-disks. Swing r ensfbetween the .emeinn fineming force thereon toward 't ries passing fthroush Openf i mesi-,n lihvheffts Spread, outwardly :from

the thrust ,sellers 0.1.1 the shafts f between. said nine and. disks. said thrust Coders lewin-g sonner-inner sides eligsrgixl.g

the outervcounter g of said `disks and hase4 ing' Shoulders et, vtheir outer sides aibutitng the ends; .foi said; pins;

8.,.. A starurtarer esispeeied: n claim 75v .eeeh

o fllsaid spacing collars consisting of two end ril' gend spaced posts extendin between joinedito said rings in outwardly7 spaced relation with the inner edges of said rings.

9. In e potato digger grid having a pair ofslde members, spaced transverse bearings mounted on said side members and adjustable toward and from each other, transverse agitiptors vbetween said side member havi non-circuler shafts passing through saii bearings, sprockets on said shafts, and chains engaging said sprockets und disposed alternately `at opposite sides of the grid; sleeves around said shafts and rotatable in said bearings, said sleeves having non-circular interiors which increase in diameter Erom ltheeenters of said sleeves to the ends lthereof., the centers of said sleeves engnng-the ,shafts to be driven thereby.

`testimony whereof I have hereunto @dix-ed my signature.

ALBERT LAURITZEN. 

